It’s All Siri’s Fault: Apple Loses China Patent Case

People wait on a street in front of an Apple store as they await sales of the new iPad in the Apple store in Munich March 16, 2012. Apple's new iPad went on a sale in Germany on Friday and more than 500 people waited on the line to purchase the new device in front of the shop prior to its opening. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY SCI TECH - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTR2ZFAQ

“Unfortunately, we were not aware of Zhizhen’s patent before we introduced Siri (speech recognition technology) and we do not believe we are using this patent,” a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman told Reuters in an emailed statement.

According to Zhizhen, Siri uses the exact same speech-recognition technology. Apple asked the court to render Zhizhen’s patent as “ineffective,” but the court refused.

This is not the first time Apple has struggled with Chinese relations over copyright infringement. In 2012, Apple settled an iPad trademark case for $60 million. CNet reports Apple has also fought over Siri with Samsung and a Taiwanese university.

Now, since the patent is upheld by the court, Zhizhen can proceed with a lawsuit against Apple. Apple intends to appeal the ruling in the Beijing Higher People’s Court.

“While a separate court considers this question, we remain open to reasonable discussions with Zhizhen,” the Apple spokeswoman said.